Clutch release for tractors



Mar.18,1923. 1,448,623.

, 0. H. GARDALEN.

CLUTCH RELEASE FOR TRACTQRS.

FILED ocr. 4. 1921.

INVENTOR WITNESS' ATTORNEY efiicient in use,

driven.

Vhen a belt is in place upon the drivek to the Patented Mar. 1.3, 1923.

OLIVER H. GARDALEN, OFDOSL IOW/fn cLUTcHnnLni-isn ron rnncrons.

Applicationled October 4, 182i.

To @ZZ fic/0m t may concern:

Be it known that l, OLIVER H. GARDALEN, a citizen of the United States,rresiding at Dows, in the county of'l/Vrightv and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful linprovements in Clutch Releases Yfor Tractors, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention relat-es to clutch controlv device and has vfor it object the provision ot novel means for controlling the position ot the transmissionclutch pedal of a `Fordson or other similar tractor which'is yprovided with a pulley driven from the engine transmission, this pulley being designed for transmitting power to some mechanism to be pulley of the tractor, it is almost impossible to crank the engine, unless the clutch lever or pedal is moved to released or thrown out position, and in view of the fact that the clutch lever is normally urged into operative position, considerable inconvenience is ordinaily encountered by the necessity'of temporarily tying down thev clutch per al, or

else requiring' two personsto engage in cranking the engine, one perso-n holding the clutch down while the other rotates the crank; it has heretofore been exceedingly inconvenient to stop` the` drive action from the tractor pulley'momentarily for the purpose of adjustmentor the'like without stopping the operation of the engine. l

It is with the above mentioned objections present mechanism in view that my inventionhas been designed and my device includes means for holding the clutch pedal of a Fordson tractor in released or neutral position, my device being formed entirely as an` attachment which may be manufactured and sold as a separate entity to be applied to already existing tracto-rs.

Another object is the provision of a clutch release means of this character which is not secured to the clutch pedal but which is merely in engagement with the clutch pedal when its use is desired so that the clutch may be operated inthe usual manner without interference.

An additional object is the provision of a device of this character which will be simple and inexpensive in manufacture,highly easy to install, durable in service and a general improvement in the art.

'Vith the above and otherobjects in View,

Serial No. 505,397.

the invention consists in the details of construction to be hereinafter accompanying dra wings in ywhich Figure 1 is a vside elevation of a portion of a Fordson tractor,y showing my devices associated therewith, and f i i The remaining" figures are detailed views orin'y clutch release device.v Referring more particularly to the drawmorei'ully de? scribedand cla1med', and illustrated in the ingszthe letter-'A designates aportionfo-t tractor otthe Fordson type, B designates Ithe transmission casethereof,l and C desig" foot pedal which is de-x signed tor throwingthe clutchinto operanates the lever or tire or inoperative position;

In carryingout iny invention I provide guides 10, inthel nature of suitably curved arms orjrods, which are se-" a pair 4 or' cured upon the tractor at any desireyl'location thereon as indicated :it/ 11.v These guides 10` are arranged in spaceduparallel relation clearly shown. Also suitably securedupon the tractor mechanism as in-y a ksegment 18 iormedfwithv the rear-ot thetra'c-V Pivoted with respect to the segment-` dic-ated at 12, is teeth 14:*acing toward tor. 13 isa leverl which is provided ywith a grip'relelase locking -pawl 16r adaptedto cooperate withA the teethy lil on Ithe whereby to hold the y adjusted positioni Piv'otallyL connected. with the lever l'is alink 17 which is in turn pivotally connected, as shown at 18,V with afsecond link 19 which'is pivoted'lto'the forward end vof oner othe guides 10. yPivotsegment 13` lever 15 inany desired ally connected by means of the pivot point 18 previously described lis a bar 2O which has its lower end forked asA shown at 21 for engagement with the clutch pedal of the ractor.

Under ordinary conditions the lever 15Lis in upright position whereupon the links 17 and 19 will be arranged as shown in Figure 1 with the fork 21 of the bar 20 engaging the clutch pedal C but allowing the clutch pedal to be in its uppermost position,v that is with the transmission clutch in gear or in operative position.

in the event that it is desired to hold the clutch in neutral or in operative position, as for instance when f cranking the motor of the tractor, it is ymerely necessary that the operator lgrasp thel lever 15 and pull the same rearwardly and then release thel locking pawl 16 so that the latter will engage with the teeth 14 at the rear portion of toothed segment 13. lVhen this is'done it will be apparent that there will be a tendency to straighten out the links 17 and 19 which will ofcourse result in forcing the bar 2O downwardly and as this bar 2O has its lower end forked as shown at 21 and engaging the clutch lever C, it will be apparent that this clutch lever or pedal C will be forced downwardly into such position as to disengage the clutch ofthe transmission of the tractor. The parts will remain in this position, naturally, until the operator releases the locking pawl and returns the lever 15 to its normal or upright position.

From the foregoing description and a study' of the drawings it will be apparent that l have thus provided a very simply constructed and easily installed device hy means of which the transmission clutch control pedal of a Fordson tractor, or in fact any other tractor, of similar design, may be lreadily held in neutral or inoperative position for any desired purpose, such as for instance while cranking 'the engine of the tractor. It will also be noted that the structure is such that when the clutch pedal y is moved to its inoperative position it will be automatically held in such position with-- out any attention whatever from the operator until the mechanism is actually and positively| released whereby to permit clutch pedal toreturn to normal or engaged position. n

While l have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is of course to be understood that I reserve n the right to make such changes in the form,

construction yand arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus describedl my invention I claim:

1. In combination with the clutch pedal of a tractor, the clutch pedal being normally vided with a grip release locking pawl cooperating with the segment, links within the guide device pivotally connected with said lever and with the tractor, and a bar pivotally connected with said links at the pivotal connection thereof and normally eni gaging the clutch pedal.

2. ln combination with the clutch control pedal of a tractor, a guide device mounted upon the tractor and including spaced elements, a lever pifotally mounted upon the tractor, a notched segment associated with and over which said lever moves, a grip released locking pawl mechanism carried by the lever and engageable with said notched segment whereby to hold the lever in the desired adjusted position, a link pivotally Connected with the lever, a link pivotally connected with said link and with the trartor, said links being arranged between the elements of the guide device, and a bar pivotally connected with said pivot point and having a forked end engaging the clutch pedal.

3. ln combination with the clutch pedal of a tractor, a pair of spaced curved bars secured upon the tractor and constituting a guide, a notched segment secured upon the tractor, Aa pivoted lever carrying a grip released locking pawl cooperating with said notched segment, a link pivotally mounted at one end between said guides, a second link pivotally connected with the lever and pivotally connected with the rear end of the said first named link, and a bar pivotally connected with bothnof said .links at the pivotal connection thereon and having a forked end normallv enga'ino the clutch l C t9 2D 

